Ghana coach Claude Le Roy has defended his decision to select three uncapped youngsters for Tuesday’s friendly Senegal.

The Frenchman called up Marseille’s Dede Ayew, striker Mario Barwuah of Inter Milan as well as Etoile Sahel’s Sadat Bukari for the game in London.

Former Ghana FA boss Ben Koufie severely criticised Le Roy for selecting the uncapped teenage trio.

But the Frenchman has brushed aside those suggestions, saying there should be balance in the squad.

“You cannot have a team where all the 23 players think they have to be in the first-team - that’s recipe for disaster and upheaval in the squad,” Le Roy said.

“We need a group of 16 or 17 players of top class international players and also six young players who are in the squad to learn and ready to play at the world class level.

“We are not only building a team to win the Nations Cup next year but we want to qualify for the 2010 World Cup and beyond and in these young players we have the future in our hands.

“These young players Ayew and Barwuah are with the first-teams of world class teams like Marseille and Inter Milan and they are playing.

“How many youngsters in the world have this chance? This shows that the players have huge potential.

“These players are future world-class players like Appiah, Essien and Muntari and we need to support them.”

Le Roy, who is a former Cameroon coach, is credited for discovering Samuel Eto’o for the indomitable Lions after taking the Barcelona star to the 2000 Africa Cup Nations as a 16-year-old.

Meanwhile, Ben Koufie himself has been branded a hypocrite for his attack on the Frenchman because of his record.

Koufie was in charge of the GFA when the Black Stars travelled with SEVEN teenagers to the 2002 African Cup of Nations in Mali.

Michael Essien, John Mensah, Dereck Boateng and John Paintsil were all teenagers when they played at the tournament in Mali.

Le Roy’s decision to cap Ayew and Barwuah has largely been supported by fans of Black Stars as it will prevent them from playing for other countries.

Ayew, the son of Ghana legend Abedi Pele, has been invited to play for France while Barwuah, 16, could play for Italy.

In 1999 Gerald Asamoah opted to play for Ghana but coach Guiseppe Dossena failed to cap him and the striker opted to play for Germany.

He is now a regular member of the German national team.